


Everything Has Changed

by mukedayparade



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: A little angst, Alternate Universe, Cute, Famous Ashton, Famous Luke, Fluff, Happy Ending, Insecure Michael, M/M, but i had to throw some in there, college student calum, college student michael, like barely any, non-famous michael, this is just cute fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-06 03:40:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4206609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mukedayparade/pseuds/mukedayparade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies<br/>The beautiful kind, making up for lost time,<br/>Taking flight, making me feel right.</p>
<p>or,</p>
<p>Michael has been obsessed with Luke Hemmings and his band 5 Seconds of Summer for 3 years, and all he's wanted since then was to get a chance to meet them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everything Has Changed

Golden blonde hair. Bright blue eyes. Cute little nose. Long thin legs. Gorgeous angelic voice. Kissable pink lips. 

That pretty much summed up Luke Hemmings, and Michael was kind of in love with Luke Hemmings.

The one problem: Luke Hemmings didn't know Michael existed. 

Luke Hemmings was, well, a rock star. And the most beautiful being to ever grace this Earth, in Michael's opinion. 

And Michael, well Michael was just a college student who spent his evenings sitting in his tiny dorm room, watching endless videos of Luke Hemmings on his laptop with headphones plugged into his ears. Which was, coincidentally, what he was doing right now.

Michael brought his bottom lip between his teeth as he watched Luke's fingers move quickly across the strings of his guitar, and vaguely wondered what else his long, thin fingers could do. And then, oh god, there was Luke's voice, gracing Michael's ears like a choir of angels, and Michael swore he was in heaven. 

But he was quickly brought back down to Earth by the door to his dorm room swinging open and his roommate bursting in.

"Michael, Jesus, do you ever get off your fucking laptop? I swear, every time I come in here you're staring at it like it's God's gift to the world. Are you watching porn?"

And that was Calum, Michael's roommate and best friend. Who, okay, may not know the extent of Michael's obsession with God's  _real_ gift to the world. Like, Calum knew Michael liked Luke, and that Michael liked 5 Seconds of Summer-Luke's band-but Calum didn't  _know_. He just thought Michael liked the music and, like, thought Luke was hot, because Calum  _did_ know that Michael was as straight as a circle. But Michael tried his best to conceal the full-blown obsession he had with the blonde boy. _  
_

"No, fuck Cal! I'm not watching fucking porn, shit." Michael scowled at his friend, quickly pausing the video of Luke and his band playing their song _Green Light_.

"Okay, well then I've got to know what the fuck you  _are_ watching, because you were looking at that screen like you were ready to jump whatever is on it." 

"Fuck off, Calum." Michael rolled his eyes, but quickly went to shut his laptop in order to hide the screen from his roommate.

"You're hiding something! Show me the laptop, Mikey."

" _No_." Michael's voice was firm, but Calum ignored it and grabbed the laptop, unplugging Michael's headphones in the process. When he hit play, Luke's voice echoed through the small dorm room and Michael cringed, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"Aw, Mikey's getting off from his little rock star crush! Cute."

"Stop!" Michael whined out, covering his face with his hands.

"It's okay, I know you love Luke." When Michael gave him a shocked look, Calum simply laughed and rolled his eyes. "You aren't good at hiding it, Mike. Plus, sometimes your headphones aren't fully plugged into your computer and I can hear what you're listening to."

"I-Calum, I can, like, expl-"

"You don't have to explain, it's okay Mikey." Calum smiled and ruffled Michael's blue hair a bit. "We all have infatuations, most people just  _know_ the people they're infatuated with personally."

Michael blushed again, but nodded as Calum handed his laptop back and said, "Okay, let's go get some food, I'm starving." 

And just like that, things were back to normal. And Michael's thoughts were drifting to Luke again.

~*~

It was two weeks later, on a Friday night, and Michael was once again sitting in bed on his laptop. Calum was out at some party or another, and Michael was left alone to scroll through his twitter and look at updates about Luke and 5 Seconds of Summer.

So, that was just what he was doing, as he clicked onto the band account's profile and checked their recent tweets. He opened a photo they had tweeted a few hours prior, silently hoping it was an HQ photo of Luke from a show. And that was when he saw it.

Michael let out a shriek that could only be described as  _girlish_ and his eyes blew open wide. There, on the screen in front of him, was a flyer with the words that he'd been waiting to see since he got to university at the beginning of the previous year. 

**5 Seconds of Summer will be playing in the following cities on the dates provided...**

Michael anxiously scanned the screen until he reached the one city he'd been praying he would find. He screamed again as his eyes located it.

**London on April 18th**

5 Seconds of Summer was playing a show 20 minutes from his university, in 2 months. Luke Hemmings would be  _20 minutes away from his university_ in two months. Michael thought he might faint. Or cry. Or throw up. Or all three. He didn't think he had ever been happier.

Tickets went on sale the next morning at 10:00 AM, and Michael was  _ready_. He woke up at 9:00, went to get coffee for both him and Calum, then came back to the room and woke up Calum. Despite his annoyance with his band-obsessed best friend, Calum pulled out his laptop and went onto the ticket website Michael indicated. Michael set himself up on both his laptop  _and_ his phone, ready as he'd ever been for anything.

"Okay, so how many tickets are you getting?" Calum questioned, rubbing his eyes tiredly and sipping his coffee.

"One, unless you want to come with."

Calum laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I'm all set. Not my type of thing. Plus, I wouldn't want to get in the way of you hooking up with Luke Hemmings."

Michael rolled his eyes as his cheeks flushed, taking a sip of his coffee to hide his embarrassment. 

The time between 9:59 and 10:06 was hectic and stressful. It was full of  _I got one!_ s and  _fuck, I lost it, keep trying_ _!_ s, until, finally, at 10:06 AM, Calum jumped up and shouted out "Michael! I got one, I got one! Section A row 3! Holy shit!"

And then Michael jumped out of his seat and hurled himself at his best friend, tackling him in a hug onto his bed. And, okay, maybe there were a few tears in his eyes, but no one had to know that. Michael was seeing the band that meant more to him than anything, and he was  _so close_ to the stage. He was sure now that he had never been happier.

~*~

Two months went by  _fast_ , and before Michael knew it, the concert was the next day. He was so excited he could barely breathe, and he had to keep reminding himself to do so. 

He had his outfit all picked out, and had decided a month ago that he was going to dye his hair a bright red for the show. He wanted to do it the day before, so that it would be freshly done, and extra vibrant. Whatever he had to do to be distinguished from the crowd.

Michael decided that, since it was a special occasion, the most special of his young life so far, he would splurge for one of the fancy, high-quality dyes you can only get at the _real_ salon supply stores. The closest one to the university was in the city, so Michael resolved to go into London in the early afternoon to get the dye, and then get lunch somewhere better than the shitty places around campus. Calum was back home for break now anyway, so staying on campus was lonely and boring.

There was a train station nearby that would bring him to the area of the city he wished to go to in only 20 minutes, so he got himself a ticket and boarded the train around noon. On his ride in, Michael plugged his earbuds into his phone, playing 5 Seconds of Summer's album and smiling to himself. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was finally seeing them live the next day.

When he arrived in the city, Michael headed straight to get his hair dye, then moving on to go get himself lunch. But, of course, he got distracted on his way to the pizza place he was headed to, and decided to stop into a little record store he passed by. He had been meaning to get the new All Time Low CD, and this was his perfect opportunity, since there were no places that sold good CD's near his university. _  
_

Michael ducked inside the shop, swinging his bag that held the new hair dye, and headed to the  _A_ section of CD's. He began sifting through, having to restrain himself from buying the several other albums that caught his eye, reminding himself that he was on a budget now that he had spent £180 on his tickets.

Having finally found the CD he was searching for, he hastily pulled it out, which then caused the one he needed, along with at least 10 other CD's, to fall on the floor. Michael cursed at himself, biting his bottom lip and kneeling down to gather them up. He had gathered up 3 when he felt a shadow come over him, and he drew his eyebrows together in confusion.

"Do you need some help?"

And then

Michael

_Froze_.

That  _voice_ , Michael would know it  _anywhere_. It was the voice he'd listened to every day for 3 years, staying up late into the night watching interviews. It was the voice that could make Michael completely forget the entire English language in seconds, and could simultaneously make him feel like he was  _flying_. 

"I-I-" Michael's eyes grew wide as he raised his head, and his eyes landed on the one person who meant more to him than anything else in the world. The one person he thought he'd  _never_ meet, let alone run into while trying to pick up CD's off the floor of a record shop.

"Here, let me help." 

Luke knelt down and began picking up CD's in his  _giant, beautiful hands_ and Michael  _couldn't fucking breathe_. Luke  _fucking_ Hemmings was  _right in front of him_ and he was  _helping him pick up CD's_. And Michael  _still hadn't said anything_.

Luke held out the pile of CD's he had collected, and Michael took them with shaking hands. 

"T-thank you." Michael wanted to fucking punch himself in the face, because  _how fucking stupid was he?_ He was speaking to the boy who meant the whole world to him and all he could manage was a stuttered thank you? _  
_

"No problem, mate."

"I-uh-um. I just, like." Michael was stuttering and he wasn't sure what to say and he was pretty sure he was on the verge of tears but he swallowed them down because he was  _not_ going to cry in front of Luke.

"You okay?"

Michael nodded, smiling weakly. "I, um, I really like you. I mean, fuck! I mean your _band_ , I like  _your band_."

Luke laughed and smiled brightly and  _Michael was going to die right here in this record store with a pile of CD's he didn't want and a bag with hair dye in it in his hands_. 

"Thanks. Is that an Aussie accent I hear? Where are you from?"

Michael took a deep breath through his nose and tried to calm down because  _Luke Hemmings was making conversation with him_. 

"Yeah, it is. I'm from Sydney."  _Like you_ , he wanted to add,  but restrained himself for fear of sounding creepy.

"Hey, same here! What're you doing around here then?"

"I, uh, I go to university about 20 minutes outside of the city. Needed a change from back home for a few years."

"Yeah, I feel for that. But I miss home, sometimes, you know?"

Michael nodded eagerly, happy that he was actually  _carrying on a conversation_ with Luke. 

"Same here. I haven't been back since December and I miss it like hell. I would be coming home this week, for break, but I'm not this year."

"Oh, really? Why not?"

Michael bit his bottom lip and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Um, actually, because of your show tomorrow. I've been waiting years to be able to see you live, and I couldn't miss the chance." His face went bright red, looking down at the floor.

"Oh, wow. That...that means a lot. Having such dedicated fans, it's such a blessing. How long have you been a fan?"

"Since, uh, since you and Ashton uploaded your second cover, actually. So, like, a little over 3 years now, I guess."

"Shit, wow. That's impressive." Luke laughed softly, and Michael looked back up to meet his eyes. He felt butterflies erupt in his stomach, smiling softly at the blonde boy.

"Thanks."

"So, I guess I don't have to ask if you're going tomorrow."

Michael laughed softly, shaking his head. "Definitely going. I spent most of my CD and hair dye fund on my ticket."

Luke laughed, grinning at the shorter boy.

"I'm honored...um, I didn't catch your name?"

"Michael."

"Pretty."

Michael's cheeks blushed a dark red, biting into his lip harshly. And, oh  _god_ , was Luke Hemmings  _hitting on him_? 

"Thanks. Not as pretty as Luke, though." And wow, where did that burst of confidence come from?

"You doing anything right now, Michael?" Shit, Michael was  _in love_ with the way his name sounded coming from Luke's lips. He'd always wondered what it would sound like.

"I was just going to grab some pizza after this. Nothing much."

"Mind if I come with?"

And, okay, there were the butterflies again, but it felt more like  _birds_ or something else  _much bigger_ than dainty butterflies.

"Sure, yeah, of course."

And so, Michael shoved the CD's back onto the shelf, completely forgetting about the one he came in for, and led Luke out of the store and down the street to the pizza place he always came to when he visited the city. They made conversation as they walked, chatting about other bands and life back in Australia. Michael's nerves had almost fully disappeared, he almost felt like he was on a  _date_. 

They talked all through lunch, and every time Michael made Luke laugh or smile he felt his heart glow. The two boys stayed around for a little bit after they were finished, not wanting to leave. But eventually, it started to grow dark, and Michael knew he needed to get to the train station soon. 

"Luke, I'm so sorry, but I need to catch a train back to campus soon, before it gets too late and it ends up being full of sketchy people."

Luke laughed lightly, but nodded. 

"Okay, that's alright. Can I, uh, get your number? Is that weird?"

Seeing Luke all flustered like this over  _him_ made Michael grin, nodding and reaching out for Luke's phone. He added his contact, putting a little heart emoji beside his name, and handed the phone back.

"Thanks. Hey, let me walk you back to the train station."

"No, oh my god, you so don't have to do that."

"No, really, I want to. I can't let you walk there alone in the dark. Plus, I don't really want to, um, say goodbye yet." Luke blushed lightly, smiling softly at the other boy.

"Oh, okay. Yeah, sure."

The two boys set out toward the train station, talking quietly to each other the whole walk. Luke got stopped twice by girls who were just as nervous as Michael had been when he first spoke to Luke, and he took photos with them all. Michael was given a few strange looks from a few of them, but he brushed it off and stood off to the side so as to stay out of the way.

When the boys were close to the station, Luke reached over and took Michael's hand in his, hesitantly intertwining their fingers. Michael's cheeks flushed, and he let his smaller fingers fit between Luke's long ones. He couldn't help but think to himself how their hands fit so perfectly together and it was just how he always imagined. He felt like this whole afternoon was a dream and he didn't ever want to wake up.

~*~

Luke had, in fact, texted Michael that night. Michael had been terrified that asking for his number was just a courtesy, and Luke would completely forget about him. Instead, they ended up texting until 2 AM. For the first time in a very long time, Michael did not stay up watching videos of Luke and his band.

Michael sent Luke a photo when his hair was done, and Luke sent back a heart-eye emoji. Michael's face went as red as his hair, but no one had to know that. 

Luke texted Michael the next morning, telling him to get to the show early, and to go to an entrance that he gave him directions to. Michael was confused, but agreed, and followed the instructions to get to a back entrance where a man was standing with a clipboard. 

"Hi, uh, I'm Michael, um, Michael Clifford? I was told to come to this entrance and give my name?" The large man looked Michael up and down, then glanced down at his clipboard. 

"Yeah, you're on the list. Go ahead." He opened the door behind him and let Michael pass through, closing it swiftly behind him.

Michael found himself at the beginning of a hallway, and began walking down it. He found another door at the end, reading  **BACKSTAGE**. _Oh._ Michael thought, _So_ this _was what Luke led him to._

Michael opened the door hesitantly, and stepped through. He was immediately met by lots of noise, and tons of people rushing around. He tried to mask the anxiety rising within him, biting his lip to conceal it. He had no idea where to go, or what he was looking for. He pulled out his phone, ready to text Luke in a panic to ask where the hell he was supposed to go, when he heard someone call out his name. And, of course, he would know that voice  _anywhere_. 

He looked up to find Luke about 10 feet away from him, walking quickly over to where Michael was standing. 

"Hi! You came!" Luke's smile was so bright and cheerful that all of Michael's nerves disappeared.

"Yeah, of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"

"I just wasn't sure...you know..."

"Yeah, no, of course. I'm here, I came."

Luke grinned at the shorter boy, engulfing his smaller hand in his own, and pulled Michael behind him in the direction he'd come from.

"Where are we going?"

"I want you to meet the band!"

Michael stopped in his tracks without even realizing what he was doing, and Luke bumped into him slightly as he was pulled back from the force. 

"What's wrong?"

"I-uh-I don't know. Sorry, I just, um. Nervous? I guess?"

"Oh. Oh! Michael, you don't have to be nervous! The guys are so nice, they'll love you!"

"No, I-uh. I know they're nice, I just, like. I was  _terrified_ meeting you. You guys, you're like, you mean a lot to me. Especially you," Michael blushed at his own confession. "It's just a big moment, you know?"

"I know, Mikey," Michael's heart fluttered at the nickname. "I felt the same way when I first met the guys from Good Charlotte. But now they're some of my friends. It'll be okay, I promise. You and I meeting turned out well, right?"

Michael nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry for freaking out, I'm just still not really, like, used to this?"

"It's okay, don't worry. You'll get used to it."

It was a promise, Michael knew. A promise that Michael would have  _time_ to get used to this, that this wasn't a one-time thing. It made Michael's heart feel warm again.

Luke swung open a door marked  **5SOS DRESSING ROOM** with Michael's hand still in his, leading the red-haired boy into the room behind him. Michael took in the sight in front of him, and watched in awe as the two other boys from his favorite band played Fifa shirtless on a couch. **  
**

Ashton was yelling something at the TV as Jeff laughed and pushed some buttons on his controller determinedly. Michael couldn't believe he was seeing the drummer and bassist from his favorite band playing Fifa  _shirtless_. Like, he was a loyal Luke boy, but  _honestly_.

"Yo, dickheads! Pause the fucking game, we have a guest." Luke yelled at his friends, and they paused their game, setting down the controllers. "Thank you. Ash, Jeff, this is-"

"Michael!" Ashton jumped up and walked over, wrapping the red head in a hug, and Michael jumped a bit but quickly relaxed into it and hugged Ashton back, causing his hand to separate from Luke's. He couldn't help thinking about how his hugs were just as amazing as everyone said.

"H-hi, Ashton."

Ashton finally pulled away, and Luke immediately intertwined their fingers again. 

"It's so nice to meet you! Luke's been going on about you all last night and this morning."

Michael flushed and bit his lip. "Really?"

Ashton nodded. "Oh yeah, kept talking about how  _adorable_ you were. And how sexy."

Michael blushed harder, squeezing Luke's hand tightly. He couldn't believe this was his life.

"Anyway, we hear you're a fan. That's cool."

Michael nodded eagerly, smiling slightly. "Yeah, a big fan. It's really really amazing to meet you."

"Aw, you too man. Jeff, Jesus, get over here you asshat!" Ashton called over his shoulder, and the bassist walked over with a smile on his face.

"Hey! Michael, right?" Michael nodded happily. "Nice to meet you. Lukey's been on about you all night and day."

"So I've heard."

 "Okay, okay, let's move  _away_ from talk of Luke raving about Michael," Luke cut in, "we have soundcheck soon."

His band members rolled their eyes, but pulled on shirts and filed out the door nevertheless. As Luke began to follow suit, he turned back to see that Michael was still standing in the same place.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Luke questioned.

"I-uh...what do I do now? Like while you do soundcheck and stuff. There's a while until the show starts and I don't really have any-"

"Michael, babe, I figured you'd  _watch_ soundcheck. I thought you might like that. You can sit in the front row, right in the center."

Michael tried to push down the butterflies that erupted in his stomach at Luke calling him  _babe_ and instead focused on the  _other_ thing that was blowing his mind.

"Wait, really? I can watch?"

Luke laughed lightly, intertwining his fingers with Michael's. "Of course, Michael."

"Wow, okay. Thank you."

"No problem, love." And, okay, there were the butterflies again. "I'll get security to lead you down to the audience."

Michael nodded and followed Luke out the door of the dressing room, over to where a large man with the word  **SECURITY** printed across his shirt was standing in front of a door.

"Hey, John. Can you show Michael down to the floor? He's going to watch soundcheck."

"Sure, Luke. Follow me." The second half of the statement was directed at Michael, so he nodded.

Luke leaned down to whisper in the shorter boy's ear, his breath ghosting over Michael's skin and making the red head shudder. "I'll be watching you the whole time, yeah?"

Michael nodded weakly, biting down hard on his bottom lip. Luke released his hand reluctantly, letting Michael follow the security guard through the door and down to the floor. Michael was definitely dreaming.

~*~

Soundcheck was even  _more_ amazing than Michael could have ever dreamed. His favorite band was way better live than any video could ever do justice; plus, he got to sit front and center for the whole thing. The band let him choose one song for them to play, so he got to hear Over and Over live, even though they never play it anymore.

After soundcheck was over, Michael decided to get himself a soft pretzel and a bottle of water before making his way to his seat. It wasn't as amazing as his spot for soundcheck, since it was a few rows back and much more to the side, but he didn't mind one bit. He was _literally_ living his dreams. 

 He observed the crowd as people began filing in, and took notice of the clear diversity of the people filling the seats of the arena. The fans ranged from ten-year-olds in  **5SOS** t-shirts, who came with their parents, to teenage girls in tight, revealing clothing, to people like Michael, with dyed hair, piercings, and dark colored clothing. Michael fit in perfectly with that crowd, with his eyebrow and ear piercings, tattoos, tight black skinny jeans, and sleeveless band tee. It gave him a sort of comfort to know that there were tons of other people like him surrounding him. **  
**

On Michael's left, two teenage girls who certainly fit the group took the seats beside him. They each wore tight crop tops with  _very_ short skirts, and flowered headbands upon their heads. Michael overheard them talking excitedly about  _oh my god do you think Luke will see us from here?_ and  _I hope Jeff notices us since we're so close!_ Michael smiled slightly, knowing that if the past 24 hours hadn't turned out the way they did, he would be thinking the same exact thing. 

Before Michael knew it, the show was beginning. He watched with wide eyes and a fast heart rate as the three boys took the stage, his eyes immediately glued on Luke. The girls beside him screamed, and he was sure one of them was crying, but nothing mattered at that moment except the tall blonde boy standing on the stage. Michael's breath caught in his throat as Luke's eyes scanned the crowd, a huge smile on his face. Despite having held this same boy's hand, having had him whisper in his ear, not two hours ago, Michael was suddenly  _entranced_. His infatuation was back full-force, and he was a helpless fan once again.

A huge smile overtook Michael's face, and he could feel his heart beating in every part of his body. He watched Luke run to the microphone stand in the center of the stage, all full of energy. This was so much better than the videos Michael watched in his dorm room late into the night.

"London are you ready to  _rock_?" Luke's voice echoed through the arena, and Michael could feel it in his chest.  _  
_

Screams erupted from the crowd, surrounding Michael completely. He grinned even wider, closing his eyes briefly and absorbing the energy around him. This was what he'd been waiting so long for, and it was so worth the wait, and the dent in his bank account.

Throughout the show, Michael caught Luke's eyes sweeping over his section very often. On occasion, their eyes would lock for a second, and Michael would feel his stomach twist in the best way. 

"You guys are so great! This crowd is amazing!" Luke had a dazed smile on his face as he addressed the audience.

"Can we hear you get even  _louder_?" Jeff said, eliciting screams from the crowd, and Michael found himself screaming right along with them. "That's awesome! Okay, keep it loud for us, yeah? I know you know the words, so sing along. This is Don't Stop."

Luke's voice once again filled the arena, sending chills down Michael's spine. He watched as the blonde boy's eyes glanced through the crowd, landing on Michael's section. Their eyes locked, and Michael's stomach twisted as he waited for Luke's eyes to move past him as they had previously. But, this time, their lines of vision stayed locked, Luke staring straight at him as the lyrics spilled from his lips.

"It's gettin' late now, I gotta let you know: that everybody wants to take you home tonight, but I'm gonna find a way to make you mine," Michael's heartbeat stopped, then sped up, so that he could feel it in his throat. Luke was singing right to him. "Don't stop doin' what you're doin', every time you move to the beat, it gets harder for me, and you know it, know it, know it."

The girls next to Michael shrieked, and Michael vaguely made out squeals of "He looked right  _at_ us!" through his Luke-induced haze. Luke's eyes had moved away from the section by the time that Michael came to, but the red haired boy kept his eyes glued right on Luke, because, at that moment, nothing mattered in the world but him. 

~*~ 

Michael was in a daze as the crowd around him filed out. After the final song, he'd sat down in his seat and hadn't gotten up since. The arena was emptying out, and he distantly knew that he should get up and leave, but his mind was still foggy with the post-concert haze. 

A buzzing in his pocket cleared Michael's mind slightly, bringing him back down from the clouds. Pulling his phone from his jeans, he checked to see that he had a text message from Luke, making his heart flutter. 

**Luke: wanna come backstage again? i wanna see you**

Michael breathed in a shaky breath through his nose, biting down on his lip. The message jerked him back into the fairy tale that was his life, where he wasn't just a fan, not now.

**Michael: sure, i'd love to. how do i get there?**

"Guys, that was fuckin' awesome!" Michael was greeted by Ashton's voice as he gingerly pushed the dressing room door open, peeking his head in.

"Hell yes it was! I feel so-Michael!" Luke cut himself off as his eyes caught on the bright red head poking through the opening in the door.

"H-hi. Sorry, I didn't mean to just barge in, but the door was a little open, so I just..." 

"No, it's fine! Hi." Luke had made his way over to Michael so quickly, the shorter boy didn't even realize he had moved. The blonde boy threaded his fingers with Michael's, smiling down at him. "Did you enjoy the show?"

Michael grinned, ignoring the nervous butterflies in his stomach, nodding excitedly. "It was everything I've been imagining for the past three years, and more."

"I'm so glad, babe." Michael's cheeks flushed at the pet name, gnawing on his bottom lip nervously.

"So, I'm all showered and changed, we can go somewhere if you've got nothing else important to do," Luke said. A chorus of  _ooh_ s came from his band mates, making Luke roll his eyes. "You could show me around the city a bit, you know?"

Michael nodded, smiling softly. "I'd like that."

"Don't stay out  _too_ late, Lukey." Ashton warned, a smile on his face. "It was nice meeting you, Michael." 

Michael grinned at the other boy, blushing slightly. "It was so amazing meeting you guys. Thank you so much for tonight, and, like, for everything ever." 

Ashton and Jeff laughed at that, telling Michael it was their pleasure. 

"Can I-uh-this sounds weird, but can I get a hug? Before I go? I just, like, I don't think I'll ever get to meet you again, so you know..."

The two boys laughed softly, pulling Michael into a group hug. 

"Okay, ready to go?" Luke asked softly once the three boys separated, his eyes gazing right into Michael's. Michael nodded, and Luke took his hand in his once again, leading him out the door.

~*~

"Okay, this is seriously the best ice cream I've ever tasted." Luke's words were laced with laughter as the two boys walked down the sidewalk, bathed in the glow of the streetlights.

"Luke, it's literally just chocolate ice cream. It's nothing special."

"There's something about it, it's better than anything I've ever had before."

"It's all in your head, idiot." Michael rolled his eyes at the blonde boy. "I don't think it's anything spectacular."

"Maybe," Luke paused, pulling Michael back by his wrist and ducking his head to look down into his eyes, "maybe it's just because I'm eating it with you."

Michael's breath caught in his throat, his eyes fluttering shut as Luke pushed him gently to lean against the side of the brick building they were walking next to. There were barely any other people walking around at this time of night, in this area of the city. Michael felt like they were the only two people in the world as Luke's breath ghosted over his lips. He felt that familiar twist in his stomach as he opened his eyes again, gazing up into the endless oceans of blue that were Luke Hemmings's eyes. 

"Luke." Michael's voice was nothing more than a whisper, dissolving into the air like a sprinkle of salt in a glass of water. He felt like, any second, he'd be woken up by his alarm clock, shaken back into reality. There was no way this was real life, not in Michael's world, where the only thing that'd ever gone right for him was getting matched up with Calum as his roommate.

"Michael," the airy sound of his name from those beautiful, pink lips, made Michael's heart beat hard in his chest. "tell me to stop and I will."

Michael shook his head, his eyes fluttering shut once again, his head falling back against the wall once again. With his eyes closed, he couldn't see Luke's lips coming closer, mere centimeters from his own, but he could feel Luke's hot breath mixing with his own, contrasting sharply against the cool London air. 

And he could certainly feel those _soft, perfect_ lips  _finally_ crashing into his own. The only way he could describe the feeling was  _fireworks_. Luke's lips were the spark that lit the fuse, sending explosions from his lips all the way to his toes, in the very best way. Michael had electricity running through his veins, he swore they'd be glowing if he could find it in him to pull away and look. But he knew he wouldn't be able to disconnect from this kiss.

After what felt like an eternity, Luke pulled himself away from the shorter boy's mouth, panting and staring down at him. Michael's eyes fluttered open, his chest heaving with the lack of air, feeling even more breathless as his eyes met the blonde's.

"Fuck." Michael didn't mean to utter the word aloud, so a blush overtook his cheeks when he realized his mistake. "Sorry, that was supposed to be an in-my-head comment."

Luke laughed and shook his head slightly. "You're something else, you know that?"

"I hope that's a good thing," Michael teased, a smile on his now swollen lips.

"A very good thing." Luke had a slight smile on his face, but Michael could tell that he wasn't simply saying it as a teasing remark. His heart sped up slightly, the butterflies returning to his stomach.

"Come with me, there's one more thing I want to do with you." Michael surprised himself at his forwardness, but grabbed Luke's hand anyway, threading their fingers together and pulling him along the street. He distantly thought about their abandoned ice creams that they'd dropped mid-kiss, but shook his head, ignoring the thought and continuing on their way.

Luke stared in awe when the two boys arrived at their destinations, but Michael just tugged him forward, glad that it was so late so that there was nearly no line, but it was still early enough that it was open. The redhead took the lead, as Luke was clearly awestruck, stepping forward once they got to the front of the line.

"Two tickets please." Michael said, fishing into his pocket for his wallet.

"No, Michael, I'll pay." Luke was suddenly knocked from his daze, pulling out his own wallet.

"Luke, you don't have-"

"Here you go," Luke cut him off as he handed 12 pounds to the woman, taking their tickets from her. Michael rolled his eyes, but pulled the other boy forward behind him anyway, stepping up to an open pod.

"After you," Michael gestured for the other boy to go in ahead of him, following him inside.

"I can't believe you brought me to the London Eye."

"It's an attraction everyone has to see when they come here. It was one of the first things I did when I got here freshman year."

"What if I'm afraid of heights?"

Michael stepped forward towards the taller boy, taking both his hands in his own. He leaned his face close, dropping his voice to a whisper. "I'll protect you."

Just then, the pod door closed, and they began to ascend. Luke turned the smaller boy so that his back was to the blonde's chest, wrapping his arms around him from behind. Both boys stayed silent for a few minutes as the pod lifted them into the sky, more and more of the city coming into their view the higher they went. 

"It's beautiful," Luke commented quietly when they were close to the top. 

Michael nodded, turning his head to look up at the other boy. "You're more beautiful than this view."

Luke blushed lightly, and Michael thought silently to himself that he never thought this could ever happen to him. 

"You're one to talk."

Michael blushed, biting down on his bottom lip and shaking his head. "I'm not..."

"You're not what?"

Michael turned his head back to look out at the city, sighing softly and wishing he hadn't spoken. "I'm not anything special."

"Michael." When the redhead didn't respond, Luke turned him around so he had to face him. "Hey."

Michael looked down at their feet, shaking his head slightly. The cruel reality that he would probably never see Luke after tonight suddenly hit him. He wasn't Luke's boyfriend, he was his entertainment for this city. Luke would forget him, and then Michael would go back to being a fan who desperately pined after him. But it would only be worse this time, because now he'd know what Luke's mouth tasted like when it was against his.

"Michael. Hey, what's wrong?"

"I-" Michael only realized then that he had tears in his eyes, and he swallowed to try to hold them in. "Nothing, it's nothing."

"It's not nothing, hey. Tell me."

Luke tilted the other boy's chin up until their eyes met, blue connecting with watery green. Michael tried in vain to blink away his tears, but all that did was make one slip out.

"I just-I'm never going to see you again. Y-you're going to forget about me and I'm just going to be a fan again and I don't know if I can  _take_ that."

"Michael, baby, where did you get that idea?"

The redhead blinked out a few more tears, shaking his head. "Because, you're  _Luke Hemmings_ , and I'm just Michael Clifford. I'm just a college student studying shit that I don't actually care about, destined to have some low paying job that I  _hate_ for the rest of my life, and maybe someday marry some guy who has the same fate. I'm not a rockstar, or even  _anything_ special. I'm forgettable, replaceable." _  
_

" _Michael_. Do you know why I spent  _all_ my free time with you here? Do you know that I don't  _do_ that if it's just, like, a hookup. I don't  _want_ to forget you. I  _want_ to see you again, I  _want_ to be with you, if that's possible, and, most of all, I  _want_ to make you feel special. Because you are."

"But-"

"No, there is no 'but'. There's just us. Here, now, and hopefully for longer. But right now, all we can focus on is  _right now_ , okay? We can focus on the future later, but for now, let's just focus on  _us_ , right here, right now. Because I'm  _crazy_ about you, Michael Clifford, and there's nothing I want to do more right this second than kiss the hell out of you with this gorgeous view of London below us, and this even more  _gorgeous_ boy in front of me."

Michael swallowed thickly, nodding with wide eyes. And then Luke was kissing him, and it was passionate and loving and breath-taking and maddening and Michael wouldn't want to be anywhere else with anyone else. Because, yeah, maybe Luke would move on, maybe he'd forget about him, and maybe Michael would end up in a dead-end job, married to a guy who hated his life as much as Michael would, but none of that mattered. Not when he had the boy of his dreams tangling his hands into his freshly dyed hair and kissing him like he was drowning and Michael was his only source of oxygen. All Michael had was right here, right now. And that was good enough for him.

 

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god!!!! this took me like a week of working on it nearly every day at every chance I got, and it's FINALLY finished! I love this so much and I hope you all do too! Leave me some kudos and comments, it means the world and I love to hear feedback. title and part of description credit goes to the loml taylor swift !! xx maddie (p.s. i didn't proofread this so i apologize for any spelling mistakes!!! there shouldn't be any because i fix as i go along but there might be!)


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